Education or Indoctrination?
Analysis of Textbooks in Alabama

III. Selected Statements from Current Science Textbooks

C. Middle School Integrated and Coordinated Science, and Traditional
Life Science

Coordinated Science, Cambridge, 1995,
Two Volumes.

The publisher classifies this set as suitable for grades 9
(physics & chemistry) and 10 (physics, chemistry, & biology).

SA Book 2, page 332, Figure 131:2: "How to put
on a condom. The air should be squeezed out of the end to catch
the semen."

Life Science, Holt Rinehart Winston,
1994.

A traditional text with a major typographic error on page 153
- the last sentence is not completed. This is one of the few books
that, while assuming macro-evolution is true, still gives a somewhat
correct analysis of what we can know from the fossil record: "The
fossil record does not provide all the pieces to the puzzle of
evolution. Sometimes there are 'gaps' in the fossil record. Fossils
have not been found for every organism that has ever lived on
Earth. Since no humans were present, it is impossible for us to
know for certain how life originated." (p. 153) Another laudable
statement is: "No one can ever know for certain how life
first appeared on Earth." (p. 154) This is a refreshing contradiction
to the following example of the philosophy of history expressed
in several texts: "For example, to ignore all the evidence
that mammals evolved from reptiles just because none of us was
there to observe the transition would be like denying that the
American Revolution happened because none of us saw it."
(Biology Concepts and Connections, Campbell, Mitchell,
Reece, Benjamin Cummings, Addison-Wesley, 1994, p. 436)

F "They know (scientists) that the more alike the
chemical makeup of two organisms is, the more closely the two
organisms are related." (p. 182) Again, the theoretical is
presented as factual knowledge.

D "Systems of classification have changed and evolved
over the years. Why is it important for science to be open to
the change and evolution of ideas?" (p. 193) Note how the
word "evolution" is used with such a broad meaning that
it prepares students to uncritically accept its validity when
used in a very limited sense.

F "The closest ancestors to modern humans are ..."
(p. 197) The descent of humans from common ancestors of other
primates is assumed before the data is examined.

This program emphasizes the teaching of attitudes, development
of process skills, the relationship of social issues to science
and technology, the relationship of science with other disciplines,
and the organization of the curriculum around unifying themes,
rather than topics. Note how the titles of the three grade levels
emphasize the key Gestalts needed to thoroughly embrace an evolutionary
world view.

P "In the previous investigation, you gathered
evidence that bicycles have changed a lot in the past 170 years....In
this investigation, you will examine evidence for change in horses."
(Level C, p. 108) The text makes an error in analogy when it compares
the intelligent design changes in a bicycle with the assumed chance
evolutionary changes in the horse. If we are to teach critical
thinking we might ask whether it is logical to cite an intelligent,
purposeful process as evidence for a non-intelligent, chance process.

E "Mutations can be beneficial, damaging, or neutral."
(Level C, p. 166) Mutations are mostly harmful, yet beneficial
ones are vital to evolutionary theory. (B)eneficial is listed
first, giving the impression that this type of mutation is more
common than it is.

D,F "Evolution occurs in systems, objects, ideas,
and populations of living organisms." (Level C, p. 166) Note
that "evolution" is equated to any type of change, and
so loses all meaning as a precise scientific term. This use erroneously
elevates the concept of evolution to the status of fact".

P "As the world's leading expert on fossils, you
have been called upon to resolve a growing controversy. Recently,
a collection of human bones have been found at the mouth of an
ancient river. Grooves on the bones show that they were chewed
by a large animal. Near the bones were discovered the tracks of
a meat-eating dinosaur. Newspapers throughout the world have declared
the find as evidence that people and dinosaurs once lived together
and that the dinosaurs hunted and ate people. However, as a scientist,
you know that the dinosaurs were extinct for over 60 million years
before the first humans evolved on Earth."(p. 28 F. See Appendix
G) In this "Problem Solving" exercise, the scientist
"knows" the answers before he looks at the data. This
is not the type of science inquiry skills we want to teach our
children.

F "Living things have evolved through modification
of earlier life forms. That is, living things have descended from
a common ancestor."(P. 56 F)

F "There is no doubt among scientists, however,
that humans evolved from common ancestors they share with other
living primates."(p. 78 F)

F "3-2 Section Review 1. What are some adaptations
of human ancestors? 2. What evolutionary paths led to modern humans?
3. Which genus was the first hominid to walk upright?"(p.
90 F)

F "Although people in Darwin's time were offended
by the notion that humans evolved, most people today accept the
idea that humans are members of the primate order and arose from
apelike ancestors. Now the controversy centers on how humans have
evolved." (Teacher's Edition, p. 76c F) Note that
human evolution is treated as fact. Only the mechanism is treated
as theory.

Science Insights, Addison Wesley, 1996.

Green = Grades 9-12, Red = Grade 9-12, Blue
= Grades 9-12.

Activities are traditional question and answer. Poor "hands-on"
integration. This series defines evolution so broadly that the
term loses all meaning and is compatible with just about any process.

F "The first humanlike organisms, or hominids appeared
between 4 and 8 million years ago... Most early hominid species
eventually became extinct. But one species survived to evolve
further... The first modern-looking appeared about 100,000 years
ago." (Red, p. 306)

F "Similar embryos mean evolutionary relationships.
Here, you can see that the embryos of the fish, rabbit, and human
are quite similar, even though they look very different as adults."
(Green, Figure 8.7, p. 165)

F "All your human features are adaptations that
evolved over many millions of years. You share some of these adaptations
with animals that have a similar ancestry...The evolutionary history
of humans can be traced back from the present through species
that are now extinct." (Green, p. 167)